Is Marvel really backtracking on the "Mandarin twist" in Iron Man 3? Also, Alan Taylor, director of Thor: The Dark World, seems to be inching toward a deal to direct Terminator. The first choice for Reed Richards in the Fantastic Four movie may be out due to scheduling conflicts. Spoilers now!

Top image: Once Upon a Time

Terminator

In an interview, Thor: The Dark World director Alan Taylor seemed to confirm that he's at least in talks to direct Terminator. He said about the rumors:

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I think I'm going to say that it's still being talked about. I literally had one conversation with Skydance, and the next day, I was apparently doing it! And that was really premature. So I would like to say that it's premature right now.

Previously, he wouldn't even comment, and now, he's saying it was "really premature," and now it's just "premature." This could be a sign that the talks are getting more serious. [Den of Geek]

Fantastic Four

Miles Teller's said he's close to playing Reed Richards, but there's a chance that his schedule, particularly filming of asequel to Divergent, may interfere. He told Fandango:

Right now I'm kind of hanging out. I don't have anything that I'm doing until probably January or February. I don't know 100%. Obviously Insurgent, the next Divergent film... I think they are going to start the second one in April. [But with Fantastic Four] Uh, you know, I don't know. If that happens, if everything works out, then I will be pretty pumped. But then I'll also be working for... it's like seven months out of your year. Which is not a bad problem.

Highlander

More details about the new director who just signed on to this troubled project: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, who was the second unit director on Snow White and the Huntsman. He's apparently a huge fan of the whole franchise, saying:

Summit Entertainment has been trying to reboot the Highlander franchise for five long years, but…
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I have been working on my pitch for this since the summer, and when I got there I met the original producer and I just started geeking out and he loved it. The first movie came out when I was a teenager in France and it was one of my favorite films of those years. I loved the series also, they shot a lot of it in France, on the Seine River. My first reaction, like everybody else, was, really, do we need a remake? Then I read the script, and I thought about how Russell Mulcahy was this super visual video director who brought the pulse of the 80s to the film so well. I started thinking about taking those great characters and matching them with a modern, visceral take, and then I was in love with the idea and I just went for it.

For me, it all comes down to that first movie, but there are great themes in the show. It’s the rare cross-genre concept that has elements of the Western, time travel, fantasy, action, contemporary. There are universal themes, but of course you need to provide the answers like the first film did. Who are these guys with swords? Why are they fighting each other? What is the prize and how are they drawn to each other? There is far more at work here I want to explore than the lightning that happens during the Quickening.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Marvel One-Shots

Rumor already has it that the "project" with Ben Kingsley will be a Marvel short showing his fake Mandarin being menaced by the real Mandarin. And while that hasn't been confirmed, Iron Man 3 writer Drew Pearce commented on the rumor, saying:

Last week, Sir Ben Kingsley spilled the beans that his time with Marvel was definitely not over.…
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One thing I know for sure: nobody's going to be apologizing for the Mandarin twist any time soon.

This seems to indicate that there's no plan to backtrack on the Mandarin as he appeared in the third Iron Man, but it could also just be cryptic misdirection. [Coming Soon]

Transformers 4: Age of Extinction

Filming in Hong Kong's finished, so now the production's moving on the China, according to this Michael Bay tweet:

Thanks #hongkong Now on to #China #Transformers4 #tf4 #transformers #michaelbay

It's also nice to see that Michael Bay's official twitter is also hashtagging his own name. [Transformer World]

Arrow

Emily Bett Rickards explained how Felicity and Oliver's relationship will evolve over the season and what Felicity's relationship with Barry Allen will look like:

On that note, how is the relationship between Oliver and Felicity evolving in the future episodes? Are you seeing a difference?I saw a difference in Episode 3. She had a voice because she was sticking up for Diggle, but she put Oliver in his place. That doesn’t happen very often. She got quiet a lot in Season 1, sort of reserved herself. She did a lot of talking to herself in Season 1. Now, she’s becoming more vocal, and that’s because she has more confidence. That is going to show in their relationship, their friendship, the trioship. There are more Olicity moments. [But] I don’t want her to get lost in Olicity moments. She’s a strong woman. She’s an independent woman. The Olicity moments aren’t her water or her oxygen. I think they’ll continue to happen, but Oliver really needs to step up his game in terms of that. She’s not going to wait around forever. We do get another character this season that creates rifts and creates another option for her. It is really a thought process for both of them.

Word is that she and Barry Allen [aka The Flash] have a bit of a flirtation. What’s their dynamic like?It’s great and fun and sparky. His intellect matches hers, and that’s really interesting and fun for her. She doesn’t have to explain a whole lot. There’s something so, so comforting in not having to explain a whole lot, especially when there’s chemistry.

On that note, episode six is going be a big one for Oliver and Felicity. And it sounds like Oliver's going to be hooking up with someone soon. [TV Line]

Person of Interest

Sarah Shahi explained her take on Shaw's love life and how she sees herself in relation to Root and the Finch/Reese team:

TVLINE | How do you envision Shaw’s love life? Maybe the occasional, emotionally detached hook-up?I think she’s having lots of sex. I do. Maybe not lots, but, like, a couple times a week. I feel like she’s got a good ["liaison"] or two lined up. Again, she’s so emotionally detached, everything is so suppressed for her, that I think she’s very much like a repressed male.

TVLINE | Is it also just a release, with her being so intense all the time?It’s a release, a way to express some kind of emotion, even if it is anger. I also don’t think for her it’s just sex. I think there are knives involved, I think there’s cutting…. The thing with Shaw is I don’t think it’s her doing this to herself but she has a lack of ability to feel. It’s somewhat of a disease, and I feel like part of the reason why she wants to go on these insane missions and why she joined with the group as opposed to just going off on her own is she wants to tempt fate. Because possibly in those moments right before death she might feel something, something might get unlocked within her. That’s why it’s not just normal sex. I haven’t shared this with [the producers], by the way…. [Laughs] But yeah, I think she’s very experimental.

TVLINE | Does Shaw ever see it as “us against Root,” or is she not really identifying herself as part of the Reese/Finch team quite yet?She’s still not identifying herself as part of the Reese/Finch team. Even though she’s working with them, hopefully we’ve established somebody who really does come across as a lone wolf, how even though she is part of the team she can walk away at any time, almost like Robert De Niro in Heat. Even though he was part of a team, he had that air about him that within 30 seconds you could turn around and he’d be gone and you’d never see him again. That’s what we’d like to keep playing with Shaw. But at the end of the day, Shaw is also a soldier. You give her a mission, you give her an order, she’s going to carry it out no matter what. At the end of the day, Shaw’s not a bad guy, but if she has to join in with Root for the greater good, Shaw is smart enough to do that.

The Originals

Danielle Campbell, who plays the powerful witch Davina, described how she sees the season and what it means for her character to be so powerful and a teenager:

The season in general, literally everyone’s going to be wanting the next episode right after one finishes. It’s a page turner, for sure.

For Davina, would you say her biggest struggle is between being a powerful witch and being 16? I loved her having a crush last week, so are we ever going to see her get to be 16?You will, and I think that’s something that’s really admirable about Davina, because you see this young girl who has so much power and so much built up anger and then at the same time, you saw her go completely weak in the knees for this young teenage love. I think that was the first time you saw a human side of her. She is vulnerable. She is just this young girl who still wants a normal life too. That’s one of the biggest things that people are going to fall for. She’s a young girl with so much power, but yet she can fall in love like everyone else.

And here's the preview video for episode six, "Fruit of the Poisoned Tree":

The Vampire Diaries

Olga Fonda said that we will eventually learn what Nadia is, reminding us that she's said she doesn't "travel":

At this point we're not really sure what her powers are. They say that she is a traveler but then she did say ‘I don't really travel, I kind of do my own thing.' I think we get to know exactly who she is and what she is in upcoming episodes. She's still a mystery at this point.

Revolution

Elizabeth Mitchell hinted that we'll be learning something humanizing about Zeljko Ivanek's Dr. Horn later in the season and says that Rachel Matheson is a "Cassandra":

This week your Lost husband, Zeljko Ivanek, arrives in town as the mysterious Dr. Horn...Yeah, and he’s kind of creepy! And it’s amazing that he’s so creepy on camera because he’s such a kind, gentle man in life. I find him very fun to play with – he’s always well prepared and ready to go, doesn’t miss a beat.

What is Dr. Horn’s role there within the Patriots’ organization?They’ve kind of alluded to the fact that he is a terrifying presence. He reminds me of any kind of a war crimes doctor, in that there’s something about him that is truly, truly scary. If you go through all those names that make you shudder, I feel like he might be up there with them. But what I feel like they’ve done, which is interesting, is they’ve made him very human. I can’t say why that is, because it hasn’t happened yet, but he’s not just dark. You can see why he does what he does. I like that in a character.

Next week, Rachel uncovers some “unsettling truths” – such as…?One of the things I like about Rachel is she definitely listens and she puts things together quickly. Whether or not everyone will heed what she has to say…. [Laughs] She’s such a Cassandra, isn’t she? But she definitely finds stuff out and tries to take steps accordingly.

Falling Skies

Scarlett Byrne has been added to the cast as new regular character. Her character's name hasn't been revealed, but she will be a "mysterious young woman with special powers and an unusual connection to the alien invaders." [Deadline]

Supernatural

An episode airing later this season, called "First Born," will introduce Cain, a retired demon. Cain was also known as the "Father of Murder " and used to train the Knights of Hell. He left demoning for love, but he's going to be in Supernatural for a while and may return to killing. [E! Online]

Here's the promo for episode 9.05, "Dog Dean Afternoon.":

Once Upon a Time

Colin O'Donoghue warned that losing Emma to Neal might be super-bad news for Hook and anyone around him:

Hook spent 300 years looking for revenge because he lost one woman. Who knows what would happen to him if it happened again?

He is desperately trying his best to be a team player, to try and help save Henry. Because he now sees there’s more to life than that side of things. It’s very easy to go back to old habits.

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

HOW FAR IS JAFAR WILLING TO GO TO GET WHAT HE TRULY WANTS AND WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR ALICE TO STOP HIM, ON ABC’S “ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND”

“The Serpent” – When the Knave’s life is in danger, Alice has to make the tough decision on whether to use one of her three precious wishes and what that would mean for her and Cyrus. Her new friendship with Lizard reveals some of the Knave’s backstory and Cyrus plots to escape. Meanwhile, Jafar’s plan to kill the Knave puts the Red Queen in a difficult position as she grapples with her feelings for him and her desire to get what she wants. In flashback, we explore Jafar’s origins and find out what he truly wants from Cyrus.

Dracula

Star and executive producer Jonathan Rhys Meyers said that, even if the show makes another season, there's a predetermined outcome:

The thing about making something like Dracula is, you’ve got these elements of power and wealth and all this, but you still have to lose, eventually. Season 1 maybe, or Season 2 maybe, but [Dracula]‘s got to lose. Morality demands it.